Those who use Interstate 79 between Cranberry Township and Zelienople may want to rethink their travel routes.

Work will begin this week to improve parts of I-79, including replacing a bridge at the exit 85 off ramp in Zelienople. The projects are expected to continue into the summer months.

“We’ll see more impact from the I-79 lane restriction, but we’re preparing to manage it as best as we can to keep people moving,” said Cranberry Township manager Jerry Andree. “It’s great to see our state highways fixed. We’ve just got to prepare for it and bear it.”

Cranberry Township is taking measures to try alleviating traffic jams as much as possible throughout the projects. Andree said the township will be working on traffic signal management to prepare for the potential impacts.

“Our team is putting together timing plans that can instantaneously respond to changes in traffic patterns,” Andree said. “It allows our system to be more demand-responsive to what’s going on.”

Andree also said the township is trying to better communicate with residents and officials on the projects and their impacts.

“Sometimes, PennDOT doesn’t look at the collective impact of all these projects,” he said. “We’re trying to tell everyone about these projects.”

Downtown Zelienople, which already experiences a lot of traffic during peak times, will be more jam-packed as people try to use alternate routes, officials said.

Part of Route 19 northbound also will be closed during night hours periodically as bridge beams are taken down and replaced at exit 85. Dates for this part have not yet been announced. Closure times will be from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

This project is expected to end in June.

Another concern is slower response times for emergency rescue workers.

“If we cannot get on I-79 southbound at Route 528 and we’re forced to go through Cranberry on Route 19, that could be an issue,” said Jay Grinnell, president of Harmony EMS. “That would slow down our responses to any hospital south of Harmony. We would have to go through all the red lights and heavy traffic.”

Grinnell said transport times to get patients to Cranberry Township hospitals could be slowed by as much as five minutes.

“I don’t think it’s going to be devastating by any stretch,” he said.

Grinnell, however, said he understands that this “is work that has to be done” and that EMS will adjust to the circumstances.

Scott Garing, chief for the Harmony Fire District, said inconsistency in lane restrictions could be problematic.

“We don’t know when exactly the closures are going to be and our responses change on a daily basis to specific areas,” he said.

Garing called the exit 85 ramp the fire district’s “best access” route to accident scenes. The fire district is looking at alternate travel routes.

“It will be a challenge, but we’ll work through it,” Garing said.

Zelienople Police Chief Jim Miller said the borough has seen its share of construction projects before, as well as traffic jams on I-79 due to vehicle crashes.

“We just have to deal with it,” Miller said.

However, Miller said the amount of crashes during construction projects like these does not usually increase.

He also said local residents should allow more time for traveling and use alternative routes to get around traffic.

“Rush hour coming home may be a problem,” Miller said. “Traffic gets backed up and it slows to a crawl here.”

Alternate routes while bridge work at exit 85 is being done include Little Creek Road and Route 19 (Exit 88) or at Route 228 (Exit 78). Exits 87 and 83 are not full-service interchanges for southbound traffic.

Another project starting the first week of April will restrict I-79 northbound from exit 78, Cranberry Township, and exit 87, Zelienople for road work. Between the same exits on I-79 southbound, the lane restriction will occur between mid-May and mid-June.

When paving, milling and patching starts in June, northbound lanes will be limited from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., except for Fridays when the restriction starts at 9 p.m.

The restriction southbound will be 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., except for Sundays when it starts at 9 p.m.

The project is set to be done by the end of October.

PennDOT reminds motorists that fines are doubled for traffic violations in work zones. Drivers can check conditions on major roads by visiting www.511PA.com.